Bob Coy
Robert J. "Bob" Coy (born November 27, 1955) is the founder and former Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale is one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the United States. On April 3, 2014, Coy resigned as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, after being confronted with a pornography habit and multiple extramarital affairs. David Usborne, "Florida's not-so-coy pastor is just the latest in a plague of fallen preachers", The Independent, 13 April 2014 The media ministry of the Active Word that distributes his Bible teachings through radio, television, and digital media has also been suspended. Biography Coy was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on November 27, 1955. At 21 years old, Coy got a job at Capitol Records in Detroit. "I was living the life of sex, drugs, and rock n roll, literally," he said. Coy abused drugs and alcohol, and after multiple traffic tickets (some for driving under the influence), he lost his license. Soon after, at 24 years old, a band manager reported Coy offered drugs to a band member. Feeling his music industry career was ruined, Coy moved to Las Vegas and got a job in property management. He later became an entertainment director at a casino with an "All-Girl Revue." This, according to Coy, "is another way of saying I ran a strip club." Until 1981, Coy continued to live a life of sex and drugs. On the day after Christmas, his brother Jim (who had recently married and "got religion") let him crash in his living room after a wild party. Jim gave Bob a pillow, blanket, and Bible. Bob threw the Bible at Jim and said "Will you shut up with your Jesus stuff?" The Bible still on the floor, Jim and his wife went to bed. Bob says he couldn't sleep because the Bible was "calling out to him." He opened it to the Gospel of John and began reading; when he got to verse 3:16, he began to weep uncontrollably. Jim and his wife entered the room and Jim announced: "God just woke me up and told me I'm supposed to pray for you." After that day at his brother's home, Coy says he hasn't been the same. In the following days, Coy quit his job at the casino and began working as an associate pastor at Calvary Chapel Las Vegas. In 1985, Coy and his wife Diane moved to South Florida, founding Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, where he became well known for his unique style of teaching and preaching. Resignation and scandals In April 2014, Bob Coy resigned as the Senior Pastor and President of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale because of an admitted struggle with adultery and an addiction to pornography. Coy spent a year in Chattanooga, TN in that city's Calvary Chapel to undergo a "restoration process", while the church board appointed Doug Sauder to take Coy's position as Senior Pastor. The Coys later divorced. In November 2017, Coy was accused of molesting a child for many years, beginning when she was four years old. He has not been found guilty and no charges have been pressed against him. Charity work Due to a great need for increased services to keep children from entering foster care, in 1997 under the direction of Coy, 4Kids of South Florida was founded to care for orphans and children in the foster-care system in South Florida. However, Bob Coy's direct involvement with 4Kids cannot be substantiated through Florida's Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) web site, nor other references. Publications * * * * * * * * References Category:Living people Category:1955 births Category:People from Royal Oak, Michigan